NRC renews membership in EUREKA after first three years exceed expectations

Expanding IRAP's toolbox of programs

The National Research Council (NRC) has renewed its associate membership in EUREKA for another three years at a formal ceremony on Canada Day in Lugano Switzerland. The renewal seeks to extend and expand upon Canada's impressive participation in the international R&D network, assisting Canadian firms in gaining technology and market access.

Over the first three years, about 50 Canadian firms — the majority small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) — have participated in mostly bilateral R&D projects valued at more than $50 million. That places Canada within the top three nations in terms of projects going forward.

"We're really happy with the response. We're seeing a steady increase in activity and interest. It's what we were hoping would happen," says NRC president John McDougall, who personally champions Canada's participation in EUREKA. "One of its attractions is that the bureaucracy is fairly simple. Projects are industry-driven so you see results more quickly. The pressure is on to be more agile and there's a greater sense of urgency."

NRC's Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) houses the EUREKA coordination office in Canada and is the primary source of funds for Canadian participation, contributing about $25 million over the past three years. Natural Resources Canada is also a major contributor for a number of energy- and oil sands-related projects and several provincial governments actively participate.

Strong provincial participation

"Amazingly, half of the projects (supported by provincial funding) come out of British Columbia," says McDougall, who recently extended his term as NRC president by three years (see page 7). "BC is furthest away (from Europe) and tends to be viewed as more Asia-oriented. But the European market obviously matters to those companies."

In addition to BC, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are the most active in the program.

Energy remains the single largest industry sector participating in EUREKA, followed by information and communications technologies, pharmaceuticals, transportation, textiles and manufacturing. McDougall says NRC is also emphasizing medical and medical devices R&D, and received strong interest and uptake when it held a focused workshop earlier this year.

Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) and Innoventures Canada remain consistent supporters of EUREKA, helping to promote company participation through their extensive networks. Both organizations have a representative on Canada's EUREKA advisory committee, as does the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

Aligning with DFATD trade activities

McDougall says DFATD's participation is critical as it operates an extensive network of Canadian Technology Accelerators (CTA) in Europe and around the world, offering "a nice integrated approach" that complements services provided by IRAP and other partners.

"We have a partnership with NRC on a number of fronts and the CTA is one of three key areas. It's fantastic that the NRC president is behind it," says Thierry Weissenberger, consul and senior trade commissioner at Consulate General of Canada in Boston which is in charge of that city's CTA.

Budget 2014 provided DFATD with $42 million over five years "to expand the footprint and resources of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service" which will be managed by IRAP.

Focus on cluster projects to increase

While Canadian firms have been successful in bilateral EUREKA projects, they are currently engaged in just two large cluster projects.

More complex and longer term than bilateral projects, cluster projects tend to be more supply chain- and technology roadmap-based with a focus on technology-to-product. These industry-driven, pre-competitive R&D projects are domain specific, last three to seven years and are currently operating in seven industry domains (see chart above).

"They deal with gaps, needs and challenges identified in the roadmaps and large companies participate because they want to deploy these technologies," says McDougall, adding that clusters account for about 70% of EUREKA activity. "SMEs often don't have the legs to participate but research organizations such as ourselves and academia do ... We're making progress beyond two clusters but it's a long-term play. We're on the cusp of getting traction."

EUREKA is encouraging SME participation in clusters, reinforcing their importance in complex supply chains and emphasizing their importance to large companies.

The last EUREKA initiative that NRC has yet to engage with is the Eurostars program. It is co-funded through the European Commission from the national budgets of 34 countries participating in EUREKA and by the European Union through Horizon 2020.

Aimed at R&D-performing SMEs seeking to exploit the benefits of international collaboration, Eurostars has rigid eligibility conditions which McDougall says NRC is working to comply with.

Overall, EUREKA has contributed significantly to the expanding and coordinated pool of funding and services IRAP is able to offer Canadian firms

"It extends IRAP's ability to help companies stretch their reach and improve their technology innovation component," says McDougall. "IRAP is evolving and its suite of tools is growing. I'm excited about IRAP's evolution. It's being recognized and there's more to come."

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